IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormnsc/v36y1990i2p140-154.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Persistence and Transfer of Learning in Industrial Settings

Author

Listed:
  • Linda Argote

    (Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213)

  • Sara L. Beckman

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720)

  • Dennis Epple

    (Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213)

Abstract

The persistence of learning within organizations and the transfer of learning across organizations are examined on data collected from multiple organizations. Results indicate that knowledge acquired through production depreciates rapidly. The conventional measure of learning, cumulative output, significantly overstates the persistence of learning. There is some evidence that learning transfers across organizations: organizations beginning production later are more productive than those with early start dates. Once organizations begin production, however, they do not appear to benefit from learning in other organizations. The implications of the results for a theory of organizational learning are discussed. Managerial implications are described.

Suggested Citation

  • Linda Argote & Sara L. Beckman & Dennis Epple, 1990. "The Persistence and Transfer of Learning in Industrial Settings," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(2), pages 140-154, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:36:y:1990:i:2:p:140-154
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.36.2.140
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.36.2.140
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/mnsc.36.2.140?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:36:y:1990:i:2:p:140-154. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.